By Alec Clayton
Painter and teacher Scott Waeschle has shown his figure paintings and landscapes in area galleries for decades. This year, Olympians get to see something new from Waeschle: flowers.
Waeschle explains how the new work came about. “I had both knees replaced two years ago,” he says, “and spent two months in the spring mostly sitting in a chair, looking out the window at the garden. I started taking photos of the cut flowers at the dining-room table. When I could stand and work at the easel in July, it was a natural progression to try to paint a large painting, three by five feet, of the peonies I had captured. I wanted to paint in loose brush strokes and create a fairly realistic image.”
And the results? Waeschle says, “It was fun and I liked the results. My wife really liked the painting and wanted it to hang in our living room, which doesn’t happen very often. The new series was off and running. I have painted six or seven large paintings of flowers so far, with two more in progress.”
For Arts Walk, Waeschle will show a group of these paintings at Developing Artists Olympia (DAO), above Don’s Camera on Capitol Way, along with some of his figurative, mixed-media works from life-drawing sessions he runs at DAO on Tuesday evenings. A number of other artists plan to show their work at DAO as well.
Waeschle’s trademark, figurative works are contour drawings of nudes that overlap paintings of the same or other nude figures. This sets up an exciting dynamic of different styles in combination. His landscapes often have parts of actual tree branches glued to paintings of trees, which sets up a similar interaction.
The flower paintings have no such gimmicks but are straightforward representations of single or stalks of flowers in rich color, with paint applied expressively. Waeschle teaches photography and advanced-placement art at Lakes High School in Lakewood. “I get out into the wilds for inspiration and adventure as much as possible,” he says. “My new knees work great, and I am back climbing, skiing and paddling with my camera — and then in the studio to play with paint.”
WHAT
Scott Waeschle
WHERE
Developing Artists Olympia,
314 Capitol Way N, Olympia
WHEN
5-10 p.m. Friday, April 26;
Noon – 8 p.m. Saturday, April 27
HOW MUCH
Free
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